Yarn knitting guide



Patented July 1, 1947 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE YARN KNITTING GUIDE Lorin G. Vanselow, Milwaukee, Wis.

Application December 16, 1944, Serial No. 568,525

7 Claims.

rhis inver-.tion pertains to a knitting aid, and more particularly to a device worn on the ringer tor guiding and frictionally gripping the yarn during the knitting operation, to create a uniform tension thereon.

,Attachments of the .foregoing type are old in the art, as disclosed in U. S. Letters Patent #1,473,953, and while such devices accomplish their general purpose, as far as is known they have never met with approval, nor have they been commercially produced, `clue undoubtedly to the fact that the yarn had to be threaded through encircling guards 4and tension devices, which necessitated severing of the yarn in order to change the work, as is frequently desired, before consumption of the skein.

The present invention has primarily for its object to overcome the foregoing objections and improve the effectiveness of such devices, by the provision of a linger attachment consisting of a sleeve over which the yarn is spirally wound and guided, to create a irictional drag thereon.

Another purpose of the invention is to provide a finger sleeve over which the yarn is spirally Y wound between longitudinally guides, one oi which is provided with resilient `means for creating a predetermined frictional drag on the yarn. s y

Incidental to the foregoing., a morek specific object of the invention resides in the provision l of a sleeve having longitudinally spaced bayonet slots formed on its outer periphery and connected by a spiral groove, together with a resilient plunger cooperating with .one of said bayonet slots to create a yielding drag on the yarn.

Another object is to provide a resilient gripping mechanism consisting of a plunger urged against the yarn by an expansible spring to yieldably pinch the yarn and cause a frictional drag thereon.

In connection with the foregoing, a further object is to provide means for regulating the tension of the spring to vary the extent of frictional drag on the yarn.

Still another object of the invention is to provide the interior of the sleeve with Ventilating means to both eliminate sweating and prevent annular shifting of the sleeve on the operators finger.

With the above and other objects in View, ff

which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the novel construction, combination, and arrangement of parts, substantially as hereinafter described, and more particularly delined by the appended claims, it being spaced open understood that such changes in the precise embodiment of the herein disclosed invention may be made as come within the scope of the claims.

In the accompanying drawings are illustrated one complete example vof the physical embodiment of the present invention constructed according to the best mode so far devised for the practical application of the principles thereof.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is an elevational View of a device constructed in accordance with one form of the present invention, the same being applied to the index finger of the operators hand;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional View taken on the line 2 2 of Fig. 3

Fig. 3. is a transverse sectional View taken on the line 3-3 oi Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary elevation of a modiiication oi the invention, with parts broken away and in section to more clearly illustrate structural details.

Referring now more particularly to the accompanying drawing the invention consists primarily oi a sleeve 5, which may be closed at its outer .end as shown in Figs. l1 and 2, or left open as illustrated in Fig. 4.

The sleeve 5 can be made oi any desired material, such as plastic, wood or metal, and maybe formed or fabricated the most economical manner applicable to the particular material employed..

In the preferred structure of the invention, a boss E is formed on the outer periphery of the sleeve .adjacent its forward end, and provided with a longitudinal bore 'l communicating with a transverse bayonet slot 8 formed in the boss adjacent its rear end. `Slidably mounted within the bore l is a ball plunger 9 urged toward the inner end of the bayonet slot 8 by an expansible spiral spring Iii, the tension of which is adjusted by a setscrew i l threaded in the bore. o

Adjacent its rear end the sleeve 5 has formed thereon a radial projection l2 in which a bayonet slot I3 is also formed to serve as a yarn guide similar to the bayonet slot 8.

Between the guide slots and i3 the outer periphery of the sleeve 5 is provided with a spiral groove I4 in which the yarn is wound for the purpose to be laterexplained.

To prevent annular shifting of the sleeve 5 on the finger, and at the same time provide ventilation to eliminate sweating, the inner periphery of the sleeve is provided with longitudinal ribs or corrugations I5, and if desired one or more openings I6 may be provided in the wall of the sleeve to further facilitate ventilation.

In the modified form of the invention illustrated in IFig. 4, a plunger I'I of rectangular crosssectional shape is substituted for the ball-plunger 9 illustrated in Fig. 2. In this structure a pin I8 threaded into the plunger II and extended through a slot I9 formed in the boss 6 permits withdrawal of the plunger against the spring I to permit insertion or removal of the yarn from the bayonet slot guide 8.

Also as will be noted a set-screw 20 provided with a knurled head may be employed for regulating tension upon the spring I Il in the same manner as the headless set-screw I, thus eliminating the necessity of using a screw-driver or tool.

In operation, the present device is preferably positioned upon the operators index finger as shown in Fig. l, it being understood that the relative position of the guide slots 8 and I3 is immaterial in the operation of the device.

As illustrated in Fig. 1, the yarn Y from a skein or ball is trained through the slot I3, from which it is wound around the sleeve in the spiral groove I4 and then trained through the guide slot 3, where it is wedged into the inner end of the slot by the ball-plunger 9, as best shown in Fig. 2. The strand s extending from the slot 8 connects with the work (not shown).

While the present invention has been illustrated and described in connection with knitting, it is to be understood that the same may be used t advantage in tatting, crocheting and similar types of Work, and if desired, may be employed ...l

as a conventional thimble in needle Work.

From the foregoing explanation, considered in connection with the accompanying drawing, it will be readily seen that a comparatively simple,

inexpensive and effective knitting aid has been l provided, which eliminates numerous interruptions at present required to readjust the yarn around the finger, and regain the proper tension to insure uniform stitches in the work or garment.

Also the present device eliminates the necessity of keeping the index linger rigid, and gripping the yarn, thus avoiding cramps in the operators iinger and hand.

Due to the fact that frictional engagement of the yarn on the sleeve is uniform, overlapping of the turns and binding of the yarn, which occurs when the same is wound around the finger, is eliminated.

The character of the stitches with respect to locseness or tautness can be denitely regulated and controlled, and because of the open guides no threading of the yarn is required, which permits the work to be changed withoutl severing the yarn, as required in present knitting aid devices.

While the gripping and Ventilating corrugations are beneficial, it is to be understood that the same are not essential to the salient principles of the invention, and therefore may be eliminated without departing from the same.

Also, while the present drawing illustrates the device for use on the operators left hand, the same principle is adaptable to a right hand attachment, which merely requires reversal of the direction of the spiral groove.

I claim:

1. A knitting aid device of the character described comprising, a rigid nger receiving sleeve provided with an external spiral yarn receiving groove in which a strand of yarn is wound, and an open guide positioned adjacent one end of said groove and provided with a yarn receiving slot transverse to the axis of said groove.

2. A knitting aid device of the character described comprising, a rigid finger receiving sleeve provided with an external spiral yarn receiving groove in which a strand of yarn is wound, and a pair of open guides positioned adjacent the ends of said grooves and provided with a yarn receiving slot transverse to the axis of said groove through which the yarn is trained.

3. A knitting aid device of the character described comprising, a rigid nger receiving sleeve provided with an external spiral yarn receiving groove in which a strand of yarn is wound, a guide positioned adjacent one end of said groove, and means cooperating with said guide for creating a predetermined frictional drag on said yarn.

4. A knitting aid device of the character described comprising, a rigid finger receiving sleeve provided with an external spiral groove in which a strand of yarn is wound, a pair of open yarn receiving guides positioned adjacent the ends of said grooves and tranversely thereto through which the yarn is trained, and means cooperating with one of said guides for creating a predetermined frictional drag on said yarn.

5. A knitting device of the character described comprising, a rigid nger sleeve for receiving a spiral turn of yarn and provided with an external groove through which said yarn passes, an open guide formed on the sleeve and through which the yarn is trained prior to entering said groove, and means carried by said sleeve for regulating tension upon the yarn.

6. A knitting device of the character described comprising, a rigid nger sleeve for receiving a spiral turn of yarn and provided with an external groove formed in the sleeve and through which the yarn passes, and an open guide formed in the sleeve and through which the yarn is trained prior to entering said sleeve, said guide being disposed transversely of said yarn, and a springurged plunger cooperating with said groove and guide for creating a predetermined frictional drag on said yarn.

7. A rigid linger sleeve for receiving a spiral turn of yarn and provided with an external groove through which said yarn passes, an open guide formed in the sleeve and through which the yarn is trained prior to entering said sleeve, said guide being disposed transversely of said yarn, a spring urged plunger cooperating with said groove for creating a predetermined frictional drag on said yarn, and means for regulating the tension upon said spring urged plunger,

LORIN G. VANSELOW.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name K Date 1,386,264 Levy i Aug. 2, 1921 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 44,069 Germany Aug. 2, 1888 

